Method to improve CMP scratch resistance for non planar surfaces

ABSTRACT

A microelectronic device is formed by providing a substrate having a recess at a top surface, and a liner layer formed over the top surface of the substrate, extending into the recess. A protective layer is formed over the liner layer, extending into the recess. A CMP process removes the protective layer and the liner layer from over the top surface of the substrate, leaving the protective layer and the liner layer in the recess. The protective layer is subsequently removed from the recess, leaving the liner layer in the recess. The substrate may include an interconnect region with a bond pad and a PO layer having an opening which forms the recess; the bond pad is exposed in the recess. The liner layer in the recess may be a metal liner suitable for a subsequently-formed wire bond or bump bond.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U. S. Nonprovisional patentapplication Ser. No. 14/818,275, filed Aug. 4, 2015, the contents ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of microelectronic devices. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to fabrication methods ofmicroelectronic devices.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Some integrated circuits have a protective overcoat (PO) layer over atop metallization layer containing bond pads, with openings in the POlayer exposing the bond pads. The integrated circuits are fabricated byforming a metal liner, suitable for wire bonding, over the PO layer,extending into the PO layer openings and onto the exposed bond pads. Themetal liner over the top surface of the PO layer is subsequently removedby a chemical mechanical polish (CMP) process, leaving the metal lineron the bond pads. The CMP process uses a slurry with abrasive particlesand corrosive chemicals to remove the metal liner; the abrasiveparticles and corrosive chemicals attack the metal liner on the bondpads, causing corrosion of the bond pads and reliability problems forthe integrated circuit.

Increasing the thickness of the metal liner increases the cost andcomplexity of the deposition process and the CMP process, and has notdemonstrated desired reduction of damage to the metal liner from the CMPslurry. Adding additional pattern steps or plating processes to protectthe metal liner also undesirably increase the fabrication cost andcomplexity. Using thicker top metal increases the difficulty ofpatterning and limits the minimum features and line separations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of one or more aspects of the invention. This summary isnot an extensive overview of the invention, and is neither intended toidentify key or critical elements of the invention, nor to delineate thescope thereof. Rather, the primary purpose of the summary is to presentsome concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to amore detailed description that is presented later.

A microelectronic device is formed by forming a PO layer over aninterconnect region with a bond pad so that the PO layer has an openingwhich forms a recess; the bond pad being exposed in the recess. A metalliner is formed over the PO layer, extending into the recess and ontothe bond pad. A protective layer is formed over the metal liner,extending into the recess. A CMP process removes the protective layerand the metal liner from over the top surface of the PO layer, leavingthe protective layer and the metal liner in the recess. The protectivelayer is subsequently removed from the recess, leaving the metal linerin the recess over the bond pad.

A microelectronic device is formed by providing a substrate having arecess at a top surface, and a liner layer formed over the top surfaceof the substrate, extending into the recess. A protective layer isformed over the liner layer, extending into the recess. A CMP processremoves the protective layer and the liner layer from over the topsurface of the substrate, leaving the protective layer and the linerlayer in the recess. The protective layer is subsequently removed fromthe recess, leaving the liner layer in the recess.

DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1A through FIG. 1G are cross sections of a microelectronic devicedepicted in successive stages of an example formation sequence.

FIG. 2A through FIG. 2I are cross sections of another microelectronicdevice depicted in successive stages of an example formation sequence.

FIG. 3A through FIG. 3C are cross sections of an alternatemicroelectronic device depicted in successive stages of an exampleformation sequence.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is described with reference to the attachedfigures. The figures are not drawn to scale and they are provided merelyto illustrate the invention. Several aspects of the invention aredescribed below with reference to example applications for illustration.It should be understood that numerous specific details, relationships,and methods are set forth to provide an understanding of the invention.One skilled in the relevant art, however, will readily recognize thatthe invention can be practiced without one or more of the specificdetails or with other methods. In other instances, well-known structuresor operations are not shown in detail to avoid obscuring the invention.The present invention is not limited by the illustrated ordering of actsor events, as some acts may occur in different orders and/orconcurrently with other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustratedacts or events are required to implement a methodology in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 1A through FIG. 1G are cross sections of a microelectronic devicedepicted in successive stages of an example formation sequence.Referring to FIG. 1A, the microelectronic device 100 includes asubstrate 102 and an interconnect region 104 formed over the substrate102. Active components 106, depicted in FIG. 1A as metal oxidesemiconductor (MOS) transistors, are formed in the substrate 102. Theinterconnect region 104 includes dielectric material 108 such as layersof silicon dioxide-based materials, possibly with silicon nitridelayers, silicon carbide nitride, silicon oxynitride or other dielectriclayers providing etch stops and cap layers. Contacts 110, metal lines112, vias 114 and bond pads 116 are formed in the interconnect region104. The contacts 110 may be formed by etching contact holes in apre-metal dielectric (PMD) layer of the dielectric material 108 down tothe substrate 102, sputtering a layer of titanium on the PMD layer andin the contact holes followed by forming a layer of titanium nitride byatomic layer deposition (ALD). Tungsten is formed on the titaniumnitride layer, filling the contact hole, by a metal organic chemicalvapor deposition (MOCVD) process. The tungsten, titanium nitride andtitanium are removed from a top surface of the PMD layer by a CMPprocess and/or an etchback process. Other methods of forming thecontacts 110 are within the scope of the instant example. The metallines 112 may be formed with a single damascene copper process byforming a trench mask to expose areas for the metal lines 112, etchinginterconnect trenches in an intra-metal dielectric (IMD) layer of thedielectric material 108 to expose tops of the contacts 110. A liner oftantalum, tantalum nitride, or other suitable metal is formed over theILD layer and in the interconnect trenches, followed by a layer ofsputtered copper to provide an electroplating seed layer. Copper iselectroplated on the seed layer, filling the interconnect trenches. Thecopper and the liner is removed from over a top surface of the ILD layerby a copper CMP process. Alternatively, the metal lines 112 may beformed with an etch-defined process by depositing a metal layer stack ofan adhesion layer, an aluminum layer and optionally a cap layer on thePMD layer and the tops of the contacts 110. An interconnect etch mask isformed over the metal layer stack so as to cover areas for the metallines 112 and the metal layer stack exposed by the interconnect etchmask is removed by a reactive ion etch (RIE) process using chlorineradicals. Dielectric material is subsequently formed between the metallines 112 to provide the IMD layer. Other methods of forming the metallines 112 are within the scope of the instant example. The vias 114 maybe formed in an inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer of the dielectricmaterial 108 by a process similar to the contact process describedherein, or may be formed by a single damascene copper process or a dualdamascene copper process, similar to the metal line process describedherein. Other methods of forming the vias are within the scope of theinstant example. The contacts 110, metal lines 112, vias 114 and bondpads 116 provide electrical connections to the active components 106 andother components, if present, in the microelectronic device 100. Theinterconnect region 104 may possibly include additional levels of themetal lines 112 and the vias 114.

In the instant example, the bond pads 116 are formed by a singledamascene copper process, so that top surfaces 118 of the bond pads 116are substantially coplanar with a top surface 120 of the dielectricmaterial 108. A PO layer 122 is formed over the top surfaces 118 of thebond pads 116 and the top surface 120 of the dielectric material 108.The PO layer 122 includes one or more layers of dielectric material,such as silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, polyimideand/or other dielectric material. The PO layer 122 is patterned to haverecesses 124 which expose portions of the top surfaces 118 of the bondpads 116. The recesses 124 may have widths 126 of, for example, 50microns to 150 microns, to accommodate typical wire bonds to the bondpads 116. Depths 128 of the recesses 124, which corresponds to athickness of the PO layer 122, may be, for example, 2 microns to 4microns. In the instant example, a top surface 130 of the PO layer 122is substantially planar over the microelectronic device 100 outside ofthe recesses 124.

A metal liner 132 is formed over the PO layer 122, extending into therecesses 124 and onto the exposed portions of the top surfaces 118 ofthe bond pads 116. The metal liner 132 on the top surface 118 of thebond pads 116 in the recesses 124 is below the top surface 130 of the POlayer 122 adjacent to the recesses 124. The metal liner 132 may be alayer stack including an adhesion layer 134 contacting the bond pads 116and a bond layer 136 providing a bonding surface. The adhesion layer 134may include, for example, titanium, titanium nitride, titanium tungsten,tantalum, tantalum nitride, chromium or nickel. The bond layer 136 mayinclude, for example, aluminum, palladium, ruthenium, platinum, or gold.The metal liner 132 may optionally include one or more metal layers,such as palladium, aluminum or nickel, between the adhesion layer 134and the bond layer 136. The metal liner 132 may be 100 nanometers to 3microns thick, advantageously providing low process cost for the metalliner 132 formation compared to thicker metal liners. The layers of themetal liner 132 may be formed by any combination of sputtering,evaporation, electroplating, electroless plating, ALD, reactivesputtering, MOCVD or other thin film formation method.

A layer of protective material 138 is formed over the metal liner 132.In the instant example, the layer of protective material 138 may be anorganic polymer material such as photoresist or novolac resin, mixedwith a solvent. The layer of protective material 138 may be dispensed ina thick layer which fills the recesses 124, as part of a spin coatprocess. The layer of protective material 138 may be a material which isused in other processes in the fabrication sequence for themicroelectronic device 100, and the method of forming the layer ofprotective material 138 may use equipment which is used in otherprocesses in the fabrication sequence for the microelectronic device100, thus advantageously eliminating a need to install dedicatedequipment and provide dedicated material to form the layer of protectivematerial 138.

Referring to FIG. 1B, the substrate 102 is rotated at a spin speed of 10revolutions per minute (rpm) to 100 rpm as part of the spin coatprocess, to distribute the layer of protective material 138.Subsequently the substrate 102 is rotated at a higher spin speed as partof the spin coat process, for example 500 rpm to 2,000 rpm, to obtain adesired thickness of the layer of protective material 138, which is afew microns. A portion of the solvent evaporates during the spinprocess, so that the layer of protective material 138 may dip in therecesses 124.

Referring to FIG. 1C, the layer of protective material 138 is heated to100° C. to 200° C. as part of a bake process to remove more solvent andto provide a desired CMP removal rate. The layer of protective material138 may be heated by applying heat 140 to the substrate 102 from a hotplate or oven chamber. The layer of protective material 138 iscontinuous over the metal liner 132 after the bake process is completed.The layer of protective material 138 may be, for example 1 micron to 3microns thick over the PO layer 122 away from the recesses 124. In theinstant example, the layer of protective material 138 is not patternedthrough a process using a photolithographic operation, advantageouslyreducing fabrication cost and complexity of the microelectronic device100.

Referring to FIG. 1D, a CMP process 142 removes the layer of protectivematerial 138 over the PO layer 122 while leaving a portion of theprotective material 138 in the recesses 124. The CMP process 142 may usea slurry which includes both abrasive particles, such as silica orceria, and corrosive chemicals. The slurry may be acidic with a pH valueof 2 to 5, for example. Alternatively, the slurry may be caustic with apH value of 9 to 12, for example. FIG. 1D depicts the CMP process 142partway to completion.

Referring to FIG. 1E, the CMP process 142 removes the layer ofprotective material 138 and the metal liner 132 from over the PO layer122 outside the recesses 124, while leaving the metal liner 132 and atleast a portion of the protective material 138 in the recesses 124. TheCMP process 142 may be timed or endpointed. The CMP process 142 maypossibly alter the chemicals or abrasives in the slurry after removingthe layer of protective material 138 to obtain a desired selectivity inremoving the metal liner 132 from over the PO layer 122. The protectivematerial 138 in the recesses 124 advantageously protects the metal liner132 from both the abrasive particles and the corrosive chemicals in theslurry of the CMP process 142, allowing more process latitude for anaggressive the CMP process 142 and thus providing a lower cost for theCMP process 142. FIG. 1E depicts the CMP process 142 at completion. Asdisclosed in reference to FIG. 1A, the recesses 124 may have widths 126of 50 microns to 150 microns, and depths 128 of 2 microns to 4 microns.The metal liner 132 in the recesses 124 is protected from the CMP slurryin the instant example, whereas metal liners in recesses with thesedimensions without the protective material have demonstrated degradationfrom the CMP slurry.

Referring to FIG. 1F, the protective material 138 is removed from therecesses 124. In the instant example, the protective material 138 may beremoved by an ash process 144 using oxygen radicals. The ash process 144may be followed by a wet clean to remove any residue. The metal liner132 remains in the recesses 124. Other methods for removing theprotective material 138 from the recesses 124 are within the scope ofthe instant example.

FIG. 1G depicts the microelectronic device 100 after the protectivematerial 138 of FIG. 1F has been removed. The metal liner 132 in therecesses 124 may be advantageously free of cracks, corrosion andscratches as a result of being protected during the CMP process of FIG.1D and FIG. 1E by the protective material 138. Wire bonds or bump bondsmay be formed on the metal liner 132 in the recesses 124.

FIG. 2A through FIG. 2I are cross sections of another microelectronicdevice depicted in successive stages of an example formation sequence.Referring to FIG. 2A, the microelectronic device 200 includes asubstrate 202 and an interconnect region 204 formed over the substrate202. An active component 206, depicted in FIG. 2A as an MOS transistor,is formed in the substrate 202. The interconnect region 204 includeslayer of dielectric material 208, with contacts 210, one or more levelsof metal lines 212, one or more levels of vias 214 and bond pads 216,formed in the interconnect region 204. The bond pads 216 areelectrically coupled to the active component 206 and other activecomponents, if present, in the microelectronic device 200, through thecontacts 210, metal lines 212 and vias 214. The microelectronic device200 may optionally include dummy bond pads 246 which are formedconcurrently with the bond pads 216 and are disposed so as to provide amore uniform distribution of the combined bond pads 216 and dummy bondpads 246, which may advantageously improve uniformity and processlatitude of processes used to form the bond pads 216, and subsequentmetal liners on the bond pads 216. The dummy bond pads 246 mayoptionally be electrically coupled to the substrate 202 through some ofthe contacts 210, metal lines 212 and vias 214.

In the instant example, the bond pads 216 are formed by an etch-definedprocess, so that top surfaces 218 of the bond pads 216 are higher than atop surface 220 of the dielectric material 208. A PO layer 222,comprising a first PO sub-layer 248 and a second PO sub-layer 250, isformed over the top surfaces 218 of the bond pads 216 and the topsurface 220 of the dielectric material 208. The first PO sub-layer 248includes one or more layers of inorganic dielectric material, such assilicon dioxide, silicon nitride and/or silicon oxynitride. The secondPO sub-layer 250 is formed over the first PO sub-layer 248. The secondPO sub-layer 250 includes organic dielectric material such as polyimide.The PO layer 222 is patterned to have recesses 224 which expose portionsof the top surfaces 218 of the bond pads 216 and the dummy bond pads246. In the instant example, a top surface 230 of the PO layer 222 isnot planar over the microelectronic device 200 outside of the recesses224.

A metal liner 232 is formed over the PO layer 222, extending into therecesses 224 and onto the bond pads 216 and dummy bond pads 246. Themetal liner 232 on the top surface 218 of the bond pads 216 and dummybond pads 246 in the recesses 224 is below the top surface 230 of the POlayer 222 adjacent to the recesses 224. The metal liner 232 may be asingle metal layer or layer stack including an adhesion layer and a bondlayer. The metal liner 232 may include, for example, the metals listedin reference to FIG. 1A. The metal liner 232 may be 100 nanometers to 3microns thick, advantageously providing low process cost for the metalliner 232 formation compared to thicker metal liners. The metal liner232 may be formed by any combination of sputtering, evaporation,electroplating, ALD, reactive sputtering, MOCVD or other thin filmformation method.

A first sub-layer 252 of a layer of protective material 238 is formedover the metal liner 232. In the instant example, the first sub-layer252 may be an organic polymer material, mixed with a solvent. The firstsub-layer 252 may be applied by a first spray process 254; the firstsub-layer 252 extends into the recesses 224 and onto the bond pads 216and the dummy bond pads 246. Spray application of the first sub-layer252 may advantageously provide more uniform coverage for a large orirregularly shaped substrate 202 compared to spin coating. The firstsub-layer 252 may use material and equipment which are used in otherprocesses in the fabrication sequence for the microelectronic device200, accruing the advantage discussed in reference to FIG. 1A.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the first sub-layer 252 of the layer of protectivematerial 238 is heated to 100° C. to 200° C. as part of a bake processto remove solvent and to provide a desired CMP removal rate. The firstsub-layer 252 may be heated by applying heat 240 to the substrate 202from a hot plate or oven chamber. The first sub-layer 252 is continuousover the metal liner 232 after the bake process is completed. The firstsub-layer 252 may be, for example 1 micron to 2 microns thick over thePO layer 222 away from the recesses 224.

Referring to FIG. 2C, a second sub-layer 256 of the layer of protectivematerial 238 is formed over the first sub-layer 252. The secondsub-layer 256 may be an organic polymer material that is the same as thefirst sub-layer 252. Alternatively, the second sub-layer 256 may use adifferent material from the first sub-layer 252. The second sub-layer256 may also be dispensed by a second spray process 258; the secondsub-layer 256 covers the first sub-layer 252 in the recesses 224.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the first sub-layer 252 and the second sub-layer256 of the layer of protective material 238 are heated to 100° C. to200° C. as part of a bake process to remove solvent and to provide adesired CMP removal rate. The first sub-layer 252 and the secondsub-layer 256 may be heated by applying infrared radiation 260 from aheat lamp. The first sub-layer 252 and the second sub-layer 256 are bothcontinuous over the metal liner 232 after the bake process is completed.The layer of protective material 238 may be, for example 2 micron to 4microns thick over the PO layer 222 away from the recesses 224. Thesecond sub-layer 256 and first sub-layer 252 combined may advantageouslyprovide more protection for the metal liner 232 in the recesses 224during a subsequent CMP process than a single layer alone.

Referring to FIG. 2E, an etchback process 262 removes a portion of thelayer of protective material 238 across the microelectronic device 200.The etchback process 262 may include, for example, an RIE process usingoxygen radicals. A substantially uniform amount of the layer ofprotective material 238 may be removed across the microelectronic device200, advantageously reducing an amount of the layer of protectivematerial 238 to be removed in a subsequent CMP process. In the instantexample, the etchback process 262 may not expose the metal liner 232.

Referring to FIG. 2F a CMP process 242 removes the layer of protectivematerial 238, which in the instant example comprise the first sub-layer252 and the second sub-layer 256, and the metal liner 232 from over thePO layer 222 while leaving a portion of the second sub-layer 256, andpossibly a portion of the first sub-layer 252, in the recesses 224. TheCMP process 242 may use a slurry which includes both abrasive particles,such as silica or ceria, and corrosive chemicals, as described inreference to FIG. 1D. The dummy bond pads 246 may advantageously improveuniformity of the CMP process 242. FIG. 2F depicts the CMP process 242partway to completion.

Referring to FIG. 2G, the CMP process 242 removes the first sub-layer252 and the second sub-layer 256 of the layer of protective material 238and the metal liner 232 from over the PO layer 222 outside the recesses224, while leaving the metal liner 232 and at least a portion of thefirst sub-layer 252 in the recesses 224. The CMP process 242 may alsoremove a portion of the PO layer 222, for example a portion of thesecond PO sub-layer 250, immediately under the metal liner 232, if theoriginal top surface 230 of FIG. 2D of the PO layer 222 outside therecesses 224 is not planar. Forming the second PO sub-layer 250 of anorganic material such as polyimide with a high CMP removal rate comparedto the inorganic dielectric material in the first PO sub-layer 248advantageously facilitates removal of all of the metal liner 232 outsideof the recesses 224. The protective material 238 in the recesses 224advantageously protects the metal liner 232 from both the abrasiveparticles and the corrosive chemicals in the slurry of the CMP process242, allowing more process latitude for an aggressive CMP process 242and thus providing a lower cost for the CMP process 242. FIG. 2G depictsthe CMP process 242 at completion.

Referring to FIG. 2H, the protective material 238 is removed from therecesses 224. In the instant example, the protective material 238 isremoved by a wet dissolution process 264. The wet dissolution process264 may use an organic solvent such as propylene glycol monomethyl etheracetate (PGMEA). Alternatively, the wet dissolution process 264 may usean aqueous solution of a weak acid or a weak base. The metal liner 232remains in the recesses 224. Other methods for removing the protectivematerial 238 from the recesses 224 are within the scope of the instantexample. For example, protective material 238 comprising positive tonephotoresist may be removed by a blanket exposure followed by a developprocess, and a subsequent descum ash process to remove residue.

FIG. 2I depicts the microelectronic device 200 after the protectivematerial 238 of FIG. 2H has been removed. The metal liner 232 in therecesses 224 may be advantageously free of cracks, corrosion andscratches as a result of being protected during the CMP process of FIG.2F and FIG. 2G by the protective material 238. Wire bonds or bump bondsmay be formed on the metal liner 232 in the recesses 224.

FIG. 3A through FIG. 3C are cross sections of an alternatemicroelectronic device depicted in successive stages of an exampleformation sequence. Referring to FIG. 3A, the microelectronic device 300may be an integrated circuit, a discrete semiconductor component, amicroelectronic mechanical system (MEMS) device, an optoelectronicdevice or a microelectronic fluidic device. The microelectronic device300 includes a substrate 302, which may include one or more layers ofsemiconductor, dielectric material or metals. The substrate 302 maycontain electrical components, optical components, micromechanicalcomponents, and/or fluid microchannels. Recesses 324 are formed in thesubstrate 302 extending from a top surface 320 of the substrate 302. Therecesses 324 may not necessarily have equal widths 326, depths 328 orprofiles 366. The widths 326 may range, for example, from 1 micron to200 microns. The depths 328 may range, for example, from 0.5 microns to10 microns. The profiles 366 may be, for example, vertical, sloped, orcurved. The recesses 324 may be formed, for example, by etching into thesubstrate 302. Other methods of forming the recesses 324 are within thescope of the instant example.

A liner layer 332 is formed over the top surface 320 of the substrate302, extending into the recesses 324. The liner layer 332 may be one ormore layers of metal, semiconductor or dielectric material. The linerlayer 332 may be formed, for example, by any combination of sputtering,evaporation, electroplating, ALD, reactive sputtering, MOCVD, or vaporphase transfer. In the instant example, the liner layer 332 does notfill the recesses 324.

A layer of protective material 338 is formed over the liner layer 332,covering the liner layer 332 in the recesses 324. The layer ofprotective material 338 may include one or more layers of material, suchas photoresist, resin, or polymer, possibly mixed with a solvent toobtain a desired thickness. The layer of protective material 338 may beformed, for example, by spin coating, spray or vapor phase transfer. Thelayer of protective material 338 may be baked, cured or otherwisetreated to remove solvent and obtain a desired CMP removal rate. In theinstant example, the layer of protective material 338 is not patternedthrough a process using a photolithographic operation, advantageouslyreducing fabrication cost and complexity of the microelectronic device300.

Referring to FIG. 3B, a CMP process 342 removes the layer of protectivematerial 338 and the liner layer 332 from over the top surface 320 ofthe substrate 302 while leaving a portion of the layer of protectivematerial 338 in the recesses 324. The protective material 338 in therecesses 324 advantageously protects the liner layer 332 from the slurryof the CMP process 342. The layer of protective material 338 may have ahigher CMP removal rate than the liner layer 332, which mayadvantageously provide a higher process latitude for the CMP process342. The CMP process 342 may be timed or endpointed.

Referring to FIG. 3C, the protective material 338 of FIG. 3B is removedfrom the recesses 324, leaving the liner layer 332 in the recesses 324.Additional layers may be formed over the liner layer 332 and the topsurface 320 of the substrate 302 to continue formation of themicroelectronic device 300.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample only and not limitation. Numerous changes to the disclosedembodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the breadthand scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of theabove described embodiments. Rather, the scope of the invention shouldbe defined in accordance with the following claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of forming a microelectronic device,comprising the steps: providing a substrate having a recess in a topsurface of the substrate; forming a metal liner layer over the topsurface of the substrate and extending into the recess; forming a layerof protective material over the metal liner layer, the layer ofprotective material extending into the recess and covering the metalliner layer in the recess; removing the layer of protective material andthe metal liner layer from over the top surface of the substrate using aCMP process while leaving a remaining portion of the layer of protectivematerial and the metal liner layer in the recess; and subsequentlyremoving the remaining portion of layer of protective material from therecess, leaving the metal liner layer in the recess.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the layer of protective material comprises photoresist.3. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer of protective materialcomprises a resin.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the layer ofprotective material comprises polymer.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe layer of protective material comprises a material mixed with asolvent.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the layer of protectivematerial is treated to remove solvent.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe layer of protective material is not photolithographically patternedbetween forming the layer of protective material and removing theremaining portion of the layer of protective material.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the steps of removing the layer of protective materialand the metal liner layer from over the top surface of the substrateusing a CMP process and subsequently removing the remaining portion oflayer of protective material completely remove the layer of protectivematerial.
 9. A method of forming a microelectronic device, comprisingthe steps: forming a first recess and a second recess in a top surfaceof a substrate, wherein the first recess has a different width than thesecond recess; forming a metal liner layer over the top surface of thesubstrate and extending into the first recess and the second recess;forming a layer of protective material over the metal liner layer, thelayer of protective material extending into the first recess and thesecond recess; removing the layer of protective material and the metalliner layer from over the top surface of the substrate using a CMPprocess while leaving a remaining portion of the layer of protectivematerial and the metal liner layer in the first recess and the secondrecess; and subsequently removing the remaining portion of layer ofprotective material from the first recess and the second recess, leavingthe metal liner layer in the first recess and the second recess.
 10. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the layer of protective material comprises amaterial selected from the group consisting of photoresist, resin, andpolymer.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the material of the layerof protective material is mixed with a solvent.
 12. The method of claim11, wherein the layer of protective material is treated to removesolvent.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the layer of protectivematerial is not photolithographically patterned between forming thelayer of protective material and removing the remaining portion of thelayer of protective material.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein thefirst recess has a different depth than the second recess.
 15. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the steps of removing the layer of protectivematerial and the metal liner layer from over the top surface of thesubstrate using a CMP process and subsequently removing the remainingportion of layer of protective material completely remove the layer ofprotective material.
 16. A method of forming a microelectronic device,comprising the steps: forming a first recess and a second recess in atop surface of a substrate; forming a liner layer over the top surfaceof the substrate and extending into the first recess and the secondrecess; forming a layer of protective material over the liner layer, thelayer of protective material extending into the first recess and thesecond recess; removing the layer of protective material and the linerlayer from over the top surface of the substrate using a CMP processwhile leaving a portion of the layer of protective material and theliner layer in the first recess and the second recess; and subsequentlycompletely removing the portion of the layer of protective material fromthe first recess and the second recess, leaving the liner layer in thefirst recess and the second recess.
 17. The method of claim 16, whereinthe first recess has a different depth than the second recess.
 18. Themethod of claim 16, wherein the first recess has a different width thanthe second recess.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the layer ofprotective material comprises a material selected from the groupconsisting of photoresist, resin, and polymer.